(ThyBlackMan.com) It’s hard to believe that the 2023 college football season is about a month away now. Week Zero starts the 2023 college football season on Saturday, August 26. One of the major headlines of the entire season will be the pursuit by the Georgia Bulldogs of their third consecutive National Championship, which would put them further in the college football history books as one of the all-time dynasties. Unfortunately, the celebration of the Georgia Bulldog family to that championship was stifled by the tragic deaths of former 20-year-old Georgia offensive lineman Devin Willock, and former 24-year-old Georgia recruiting analyst, Chandler LeCroy in a January 15, 2023 vehicle crash that also left one other Georgia Bulldogs player and staffer injured. Driving at high speed and alcohol were the likely culprits of the tragedy that has cast a shadow over the Georgia Bulldogs since winning the championship earlier this year.
Unfortunately, several Georgia Bulldogs players didn’t seem to learn from that tragic event as multiple players have been arrested on driving-related charges this offseason. The driving-related charges this offseason regarding Georgia Bulldogs football players has been so bad that Georgia head football coach Kirby Smart was asked about it at the SEC Media Day and Smart answered that, “I’m disappointed anytime we have traffic incidents. It’s very evident when you look at it, we’ve had traffic citations and incidents throughout the history of being at the University of Georgia. We actually don’t have more now than we’ve had in the past. What concerns me most is the safety of our players, and when you drive at high speeds it’s unsafe. We don’t want that to happen. We’re going to do all we can to take that out and make sure that’s eradicated. But I’m also smart enough to understand and know that 18- to 20-year olds is when this happens. It’s when it happened to me as a student-athlete. That’s when speeding happens. What we want to do is take that out and make it safe and not have high speeds. As long as they don’t get a speeding ticket, it should not be a super speeder.”
Kirby Smart did note the ages of “18- to 20-year olds” as those having traffic or speeding incidents but unfortunately even young people out of college can have issues with speeding. Minnesota Vikings rookie wide receiver Jordan Addison, who is 21 years old, was cited for speeding earlier this month by Minnesota state police after allegedly driving 140 mph in a zone that has a 55-mph speed limit. He was driving a Lamborghini Urus. One of the most high-profile speeding incidents among athletes in recent memory involves former NFL wide receiver Henry Ruggs III. He recently plead guilty to driving his Corvette drunk at 156 mph before a car crash in 2021 that killed a Las Vegas woman, Tina Tintor. Ruggs III, who was 22 years old at the time of the crash, will serve a sentence of three to 10 years in prison but Tintor’s family is negatively impacted forever.
In several of these instances of speeding by young people, alcohol was involved which emphasizes the perils of drunk driving. It is important for people of all ages and especially young people to not drink and drive and call for a taxi or rideshare instead of endangering lives. For the young athletes mentioned who were speeding and didn’t crash, they have to understand that no human is indestructible regardless of age and fitness level. Driving 20 or more miles per hour over the speed limit is not a good decision for several reasons and young people have to understand that things can end tragically.
Staff Writer; Mark Hines